DIBP releases YTD September – 2013/2014 program year student visa data

DIBP has finally released the quarterly report for student visa applications and grants for the 1st quarter of the 2013/2014 program year (July to September 2013). 

The number of offshore visa applications (new demand) has been increasing slowly since July 2011, with the renewal of demand accelerating in the last half of the 2012/2013 program year.  The significant increase in offshore visa applications in the 4th quarter of 2012/2013 (+20%) has accelerated further in the 1st quarter of 2013/2014, with an increase of +28%. 

It is a similar story for the number of visas granted offshore.   Offshore visa grants have also been increasing slowly since July 2011, with the growth accelerating in the last half of the 2012/2013 program year.  The significant increase in offshore visa grants in the 4th quarter of 2012/2013 (+18%) has accelerated even further in the 1st quarter of 2013/2014, with an increase of +36%. 

Visa grants are at an all-time high if the peak year of 2008/2009 is excluded.  What is different from previous years, however, is the spread of visas across the different sectors, with the current strong growth being driven primarily by the Higher Education sub-class of visa (which includes ELICOS students who have English language courses packaged with higher education).  Offshore Higher Education visa grants in the 1st quarter of 2013/2014 were up by a huge +48% (+7,173).  In 2008/2009, Higher Education visas represented 40% of the total visas granted offshore – in this 1st quarter of 2013/2014, they represent 55%. 

Whilst a relatively small proportion of the overall ELICOS cohort, it was good to see increasing numbers of visas granted for stand-alone ELICOS visas (not packaged with programs in any other sector).  Offshore Independent ELICOS visa grants were up by +12% (+597), with onshore Independent ELICOS visa grants up by +3% (+79). 

It was also good to see the visa grant rate for offshore visas in the 1st quarter of 2013/2014 remaining stable at the new high level of 92.4%. 

The data shows some welcome good news for VET providers, with offshore visa grants for VET showing the first growth the sector has experienced for some time.  The 1st quarter of 2013/2014 showed growth of +25% in offshore visa grants for VET. 

Click here for the DIBP Report – Student visa program quarterly report: quarter ending at 30 September 2013. 

English Australia Member Colleges and Affiliates can access a detailed analysis of the data from an ELICOS perspective by logging in to the following section of the English Australia website:

COLLEGES » Services & Resources » Marketing Resources » Statistics/Research

 

The data from DIBP is useful for:

a) understanding trends in the pipeline of students across all types of pathways;

b) understanding the pipeline of students by type of program eg. stand-alone English, English for High School, English for further study etc.; and

c) understanding trends in onshore vs offshore student visa applications and grants.